Ezra 2

2:1
Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the
captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the
king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem
and Judah, every one unto his city;

(2:5-60) The second chapter of Ezra provides a list of
the Jewish people returning to Judah after their captivity in Babylon. It makes
for rather dull reading: just a list of men's names and the number of offspring
that accompanied each of them. The same list is given in the seventh chapter of Nehemiah (as though once were not
enough), but the two lists contradict each other in 19 places. As an example,
consider the very first of these contradictions:
Ezra 2:5 says "the children of Arah, seven hundred
seventy and five," but Neh.7:10 contradicts
this saying, "the children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two." There
are 18 other similar contradictions between the two accounts.

2:2
Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai,
Bilshan, Mizpar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people
of Israel:

(2:42)"The children of the
porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of
Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of
Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine."How many children of the porters?

2:42The children of the
porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of
Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of
Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine.

2:43
The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children
of Tabbaoth,

2:44
The children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon,

2:45
The children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub,

2:46
The children of Hagab, the children of Shalmai, the children of Hanan,

2:47
The children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah,

2:48
The children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam,

2:49
The children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai,

2:50
The children of Asnah, the children of Mehunim, the children of Nephusim,

2:51
The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,

2:52
The children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,

2:53
The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Thamah,

2:61
And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children
of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after
their name:

2:62
These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy,
but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the
priesthood.

2:63
And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most
holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

(2:64) "The whole
congregation together was forty and two thousand tree hundred and threescore
[42,360]."
Yet if we count up all of the numbers in the list just given in
Ezra 2:3-62 we obtain a different number: 29,818.